If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

I was just thinking about the two weeks I once spent in San Francisco back in 1996......I stayed at IHC Youth Hostels to keep my costs down and I found cheap places to eat. I found a great Buffalo Exchange in Russian Hill and actually found some nice clothes there fairly cheap. All that said, I am (to date) the only gay man I know of who does not like San Francisco.

It's not that it's an ugly place, not at all. It's much more that when I travel I am always comparison shopping. I saw what rent was like and what houses costs there back in 1996 (very ugly even way back then but worse now) and I truly wonder how anyone can afford to live there.....I also saw a great many homeless people and my overall take was that for me, it would be a stressful place to live. Simply, the math does not work for me one bit. In other words, costs of living vs. wages? Can do much better elsewhere. Of course that elsewhere is not going to be San Francisco but I'll take the better spread between costs of living vs. wages any day.

But that's just me. Everyone else I know who has been to San Francisco loves it. Rob

Just got back from visiting this wonderful city. Your transit systems are amazing and easy to use with the Clipper card. We used the AC, Bart, ferries, Muni and walked everywhere reaching 22,000 - 25,000 steps a day. Seniors are treated royally and I got to sit down for every transit trip that I took.

Did the Muir Woods, Sausalito tour crossing the Golden Gate Bridge after a very comprehensive city tour with Dylans Tours. Alcatraz was very well presented and I loved the tram ride up to the prison area to protect my knees; the gardener docents were wonderful explaining the Mediterranean climate and the challenges of growing a garden over the years on the rock.

Fishermans' Wharf was interesting; enjoyed crab chowder in a sour dough bowl and visited the sea lions who were very busy and noisy. Enjoyed the cable car ride.

Watched the Golden State Warriors defeat the Timber Wolves at the Oracle Arena while i was eating catfish and fries but was shocked at seeing the action in the game stop for TV commercial breaks. How do they keep the momentum going in the game?

Visited SFMOMA really appreciating some of the art and photography on display. I howled with laughter with the outdoor sculpture area including a large snowman encased in chilling system but positioned in front of the large living wall of greenery.

I kept being surprised by the camellias growing everywhere; large pots of ferns or succulents encircled by cyclamens. The Botanical Gardens with rhodos, camellias and magnolias especially those with fragrance and Japanese Garden were a delight. The Golden Gate Park is huge. I didn't have time to visit the Floral Conservatory but did tour the Haight-Ashbury area admiring the architecture and colours of the buildings.

Very busy every day and very glad that I went. Thanks for all the suggestions earlier. Southwest provided a very comfortable and efficient flight keeping me up to date and easy to access. Border crossing was a snap in both directions.

Sounds like such a great trip!
I know two others who took their vacations in SF this past year. One told me she intends to go back for a week every year because she loves it so much! The other took a self-guided bike tour all over the city and said it was beautiful, fun, and all-around charming as a city.

“I came from a real tough neighborhood. I put my hand in some cement and felt another hand." -- Rodney Dangerfield

All that said, I am (to date) the only gay man I know of who does not like San Francisco.

It's not that it's an ugly place, not at all. It's much more that when I travel I am always comparison shopping. I saw what rent was like and what houses costs there back in 1996 (very ugly even way back then but worse now) and I truly wonder how anyone can afford to live there.....I also saw a great many homeless people and my overall take was that for me, it would be a stressful place to live. Simply, the math does not work for me one bit. In other words, costs of living vs. wages? Can do much better elsewhere. Of course that elsewhere is not going to be San Francisco but I'll take the better spread between costs of living vs. wages any day.

When we moved to SF I expected to fall in love with it the way I did NYC when I moved there after graduating from college. I didn't. I like it a lot, and never wanted to move back to NYC, but my affection for this place just isn't the same as I had for NYC and never will be. At some point I came to figure out that it was because when I moved to NYC I was young and single and life was full of limitless possibilities and countless handsome men. SF has plenty of countless men, but when we moved here I was neither young nor single.

The cost of housing in the Castro is high enough that not a whole lot of young people can afford to live there. As a result most of the people in the bars in the Castro tend to be my age or older.

When we moved to SF I expected to fall in love with it the way I did NYC when I moved there after graduating from college. I didn't. I like it a lot, and never wanted to move back to NYC, but my affection for this place just isn't the same as I had for NYC and never will be. At some point I came to figure out that it was because when I moved to NYC I was young and single and life was full of limitless possibilities and countless handsome men. SF has plenty of countless men, but when we moved here I was neither young nor single.

Insightful thoughts there. What year did you move to NYC? What year did you move to SF?

“I came from a real tough neighborhood. I put my hand in some cement and felt another hand." -- Rodney Dangerfield

Insightful thoughts there. What year did you move to NYC? What year did you move to SF?

Moved to NYC in August 1990 at the age of 22. Met SO in december 2002. (my anniversary is december 22nd, the night we met. His is new year's eve that year, our first official date.) Moved to SF on new year's eve 2008 at the age of 41.

The COL is insane. That is why so many bay area people end up in northern nv especially once they retire.

Yep. We won't be retiring in the city. Right now we both make enough money that it makes sense to live here. But unless we want to work until we're 80 it doesn't make sense to stay here once we quit working.